


We Only Have Each Other

by InTheMidstOfYourDyingFire



Category: TMNT (2007), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2003), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, April and Casey are only briefly mentioned, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Hurt No Comfort, Lots of Angst, Mentions of Blood, let me know if I’ve missed any tags please, this is a sad fic, warning in the end notes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-10
Updated: 2019-12-10
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:02:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21741898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InTheMidstOfYourDyingFire/pseuds/InTheMidstOfYourDyingFire
Summary: It wasn’t supposed to be like this.If one of us goes down, we all go down.All hope is lost.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 30





	We Only Have Each Other

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings are in the end notes and will contain massive spoilers for this story.
> 
> I’m not really happy with this and will most likely come back and edit it later on. I switched between last and present tense a lot in order to differentiate between backstory and the present events but I don’t think it flows very well so I’ll most likely fix it later on, but for now, I hope you all enjoy! 
> 
> -Em
> 
> PS. This fic is written in third person and mainly follows Leonardo.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way.

Of course he knows that their lives are dangerous. He’s always known better than anyone, the risks they take on a daily basis by just _existing._ As their leader, Leonardo had always lectured them on being safe, on taking care of themselves. They aren’t human, they can’t go into a hospital to get the medical attention they need and poor Donatello can only do so much. They’re not invincible, and before every outing Leonardo never failed to remind his brothers of this. 

It wasn’t enough. 

Their team, their _family_ , has been through so much. They’ve fought countless battles, earned numerous scars and have patched each other up in the early hours of the morning too many times to even remember the first. They’ve faced down shredder, Kraang, Triceratons, and mutants of all kinds, yet they’ve come back home every single time. Bruised, a little more broken, but they’ve _always_ come back. Always together. 

Leonardo and his brothers have been training in ninjutsu for the better part of their 22 years of life. Despite their individual personalities, all four of them could be lethal when needed. They all had the skill and training to defend themselves and each other against seemingly impossible odds. They knew when it was time to get serious. When it was time to put aside any disputes and protect each other for all their worth. When it was time to work as a team to ensure that they all got to live to see another day.

They needed each other. Leonardo needed every one of his brothers in his life, just as he knew they needed him. It didn’t matter what daily argument they were having, what disagreements they’ve yelled and screamed at each other endlessly about. At the end of the day, they all relied heavily on one another to keep going.

Leonardo needed Raphael to question his decisions because he never knew when he was being _too_ tough on them. He didn’t know when he was too focused on protecting them and not enough on loving them. When it got to the point of him trying to control them because he _knew_ they’d get into trouble if he didn’t. He’d already lost his father and losing a brother would be too much to bear. Raphael created balance. When Raph pushed, Leo pushed back. They kept each other in line. And when Leonardo couldn’t be strong enough for his family, Raphael had no trouble stepping in. Leonardo may lead his family into battles and back home safely, but Raphael was without a doubt the protector. He held the most passion, the most bravery. It was something that they couldn’t live without. Though the duty fell on all of them, it was Raph who took it upon himself to defend his family at any cost.

He wasn’t there, he wasn’t fast enough.

Leonardo needed Donatello to be a calming presence when the stress got to be too much. Every one of his brothers possessed the ability to calm him down, but Donatello was hands down the best at it. Don was the most rational and logical. Where Leo would be in over his head, Raph would throw caution to the wind, and Mikey would be too optimistic, Donnie was always willing to be the realist. He saw things in the form of mathematical equations and probability. He was able to get Leonardo to think rationally and see the likelihood of the outcomes that he’s stressed for countless hours over. It was Donatello’s job to reassure Leonardo that they’d be okay, and coming from the pure genius that is his second youngest brother, there was no doubting his calculations. There wouldn’t be a trap around every corner. They won’t lack the skills needed to complete a mission. They wouldn’t lose each other. 

He didn’t see the flaws, he never predicted this outcome.

Leonardo had needed Michelangelo to be their light. When dark times would fall upon the Hamato clan, the youngest member would always crack a joke or share a few wise words to cheer his brothers up. Leo wasn’t stupid, he knew that not all of his baby brothers’ smiles were real, especially after their father’s death. He could see it in the way his eyes would sometimes be dimmer than their usually bright blue. Filled with unshed tears, smiles not quite reaching them. But Michelangelo always had a way of finding a light in the darkest of times, the slightest bit of hope, the last thing they needed to motivate their tiny family to pull through. Mike always knew what to say and do to make others feel better. He knew how to calm the anger that raged within Raphael. To get his genius brother to take a step back from his work. To eliminate whatever doubt had made itself at home inside the eldest brother’s thoughts. Michelangelo found endless hope in his brothers, while the three eldest found hope in him. 

But in a way that no one had anticipated, their hope had been lost. 

It wasn’t supposed to be this way, and yet here Leonardo sits at his youngest brothers grave. Raphael is kneeling to his right, while Donatello, now the youngest of the Hamato’s, kneels to his left. The silence is thick, unbearable. No one knows what to say. Michelangelo would always be the one to break the tension. A hesitant smile and a cheesy joke would make everyone fight off the urge to smile as well, no matter the occasion. But Mikey isn’t there anymore, and it pains Leonardo to think he’d have to get used to the silence. 

His hands burn as the cuts that mark his fingers mingle with the soil encased in his hands, tossing handfuls into the rectangular hole in which his baby brother now lay. Too cold, too still for his once hyperactive little brother. Michelangelo’s face is pale and lifeless, almost unrecognizable if not for the orange bandana and nunchucks that lay at his sides. No longer will they ever see his smiling face staring at them with so much happiness, so much love. No longer would they be able to see the mischievous glint in the youngest’s eyes as they fearfully anticipated whatever prank was about to come their way. The three brothers would never hear the enthusiastic whoops and hollers of the orange banded turtles as he skillfully flipped his way through a rooftop battle. They’d never be able to have gaming battles, movie marathons, or skateboard without feeling their hearts ache for the missing piece in them to be filled once more, for their baby brother to come home.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. 

Leonardo’s two remaining brothers have cuts similar to his own littering their fingers, now healing but sure to leave scars behind. He stares down at them, remembering how his skin peeled back as he and his brothers frantically tore through the rocks that separates Michelangelo from his panicked brothers. Dread had already crept over the three eldest by then but they stomped it down, desperately trying to find the hope that their little brother had always given them so effortlessly. Mikey’s voice had gone silent long ago. _Too_ long, the brothers knew. Still, they pushed and pulled at the debris, water and sewage flooding over their feet, spilling out through the holes at the top of the wreckage that was once the ceiling of their dojo. Leonardo’s voice was hoarse, throat aching from screaming and pleading for his youngest brother to say _anything_. It was all his fault. He was their leader, he should’ve seen the danger.

The storm that hit New York that week was record breaking, and was only going to get worse. Donatello had looked through all the relevant data before coming to the conclusion that there was no possible way for them to remain safe in the lair. They had an estimated two days before their home was to be flooded, and were moving their valued belongings into the shell raiser, parked at April’s house, in preparation for their stay at the farm house for the unforseeable future. They knew their home would be unsalvageable following the storm, and had made their final rounds before intending to head back to April’s. 

The brothers had wanted to say a final goodbye to their home, begging their leader to allow for five minutes of wandering and reminiscing. Foolishly, Leonardo agreed, watching his brothers go off in separate directions to bid their farewells before making his way to his former sensei’s room. Donatello had predictably gone into what had once been his lab, once filled to the brim with a multitude of his inventions and medical supplies, most of which were packed into boxes and bags, already down at the farm house where Casey waited for their arrival. Raphael had gone to his old bedroom where his hammock was still strung up, laying down and taking it all in one last time. As Leonardo kneeled on the floor, he felt something prickle at the base of his neck before a sudden, inexplicable sense of terror washed over him. Standing abruptly, he sprinted for the door, already straining to hear his brothers’ voices. _This was a mistake._

Michelangelo had gone into the dojo, fondly remembering the many sparring sessions and lessons he had taken part in alongside his brothers as they’ve grown up. He looked from the mats to the now bare weapons rack, sad smile never leaving his face. The smile soon vanished upon seeing the slightest of cracks along the ceiling, following it with his eyes and startling at the deafening crack that echoed through the room. He made to dash for the exit but found that even as the fastest of the brothers, he was too slow to escape the falling ceiling as it came down on him. Still conscious, he found himself in a tight, compact space created by the mound of debris that now lay on top of him. Arm pinned to the floor by a metal pipe, Michelangelo spluttered and coughed as water poured down onto his face from above, moving his head with much difficulty to the right, allowing himself to breathe. The water was rising quickly, and he had a horrible feeling that he knew where this was going. Leonardo’s panicked voice reached his ears first, followed by Don’s and Raph’s equally terrified ones upon being filled in on the situation. 

Despite his never ending optimism, the youngest knew there was no chance that he would live to see his brothers faces again. The water was rising too fast, higher with every passing second. If the water didn’t kill him, the blood loss would, and it was at that moment that Michelangelo had accepted his fate. True to his nature, he spent the last few minutes of his life trying to reassure his brothers that they would be okay without him, that they’d find a way to move on. Leonardo cursed and screamed alongside his brothers, ignoring the blood coating his fingers in favour of pulling at the pipes and concrete that trapped his youngest brother, adrenaline fighting off the pain he should’ve felt. He was already feeling an entirely different type of pain. The pain of a leader who failed to protect his team. The pain of an older brother who knew that one of his siblings was about to be lost to him forever.

An hour later, when the brothers finally loosened the mountain of rubble enough to move it aside, long after they realized they were too late, they watched in anguished silence at what they knew they inevitably find. The water had slowed down where it had begun to slowly trickle down from the hole where the ceiling once was, mingling with the bloodied water surrounding the lifeless corpse of what used to be their light, their hope, their brother. Michelangelo was lost that day, and the future never looked darker. 

After all they’ve been through, they always thought they’d die in battle, together. _If one of us goes down, we all go down_. To this day, Leonardo knew that the advice he’d given to Michelangelo remained true. The Hamato clan has never felt more defeated. They’ve taken a huge hit, and they aren't getting back up again. They’ve lost all hope for a bright future. 

They were supposed to grow old. They were supposed to find a permanent home, safe and far enough away that they wouldn’t have been stumbled upon by accident. Where their enemies couldn’t find them and where they could live out the rest of their days peacefully as a _family._ They were supposed to be okay. They were supposed to be happy.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> WARNINGS: The major character death in this fic is Mikey. He drowns because he is trapped in an enclosed space that has been flooded. This is not a happy fic, proceed with caution.
> 
> -Em


End file.
